One Year In The Life of TQP

It has been a year since I began my new position at UNI. As I reflect on what brought me here and the hopes of where we might take this program I am both bolstered and bewildered.

This takes some explanation. The opportunity to bring pK-12 and IHE to the same table is what brought me here in the first place. Some might say that would be "pie in the sky" thinking but what can I say? I am an optimistic idealist. So to that end, I can say we have made progress toward that. We have created partnerships between UNI faculty and staff and five rural, Iowa districts (CAL, HLV, Midland, Springville and West Fork). Having the chance to collaborate and talk about what each needs from one another may be a beginning of transforming teacher preparation at UNI.

I am also bewildered at the same prospect. Although our scale is small, if we get it right, there are implications for all Iowa districts and teacher prep programs. This is one aspect of the bewilderment. The other aspect is that of the newly-released (October 3) blueprint for educational transformation "One Unshakable Vision". Where is the opportunity to innovate? To create new connections without the evaluative ties of previous programs. Where is the student-centeredness that our youth so deserve? Much has been tweeted, chatted, and dialogued over the past few days and I feel the sense that more of us are not willing to sit and let it just happen to us.

Truly, the bolstering is stronger than the bewilderment. Here is a list of the UNI TQP Accomplishments in our first year:

• Hiring of staff (Program Manager, Project Coordinator, Technology Specialist, and Field Placement Coordinator)
• Completion of a research document outlining suggestions for transformative change
• Securing of 5 rural districts to serve with us as partners
• Recruitment of 12 UNI Faculty to have their Level 3 Methods students placed in the 5 partner districts
• Familiarization with the TPAC teacher performance assessment handbooks and development of a pre- student teaching document to use in the Fall 2011 Field Test
• Determination of how the video component of the field experience will be captured and uploaded
• Placement of 35 UNI Level 3 students in our 5 partner districts (ready for the field test to run October 17-November 4)

It has been an interesting year full of new people with which to interact, collaborate and grow. There have been moments when dealing with the ambiguity of the situation was nearly overwhelming. And yet now having come through those moments to see the opportunity to learn and create is truly powerful. Here is to year two!